Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical stapling apparatuses. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to surgical stapling apparatuses including knife drive lockout mechanisms.
Description of Related Art
Surgical stapling apparatuses that are configured to staple and, subsequently, sever tissue are well known in the art. Such stapling apparatuses, typically, include, a housing and an elongated member that extends from the housing. In certain instances, a multi use loading unit (MULU) that includes a reload may be configured to releasably couple to a distal end of the elongated member. Alternatively, the reload may be fixedly supported at the distal end of the elongated member. In either of the aforementioned reload configurations, an anvil and cartridge may be provided on jaws of the reload and configured to staple tissue. A knife (or other suitable device) may be utilized to sever the stapled tissue. The knife may be actuated via one or more actuation devices operably associated with the surgical stapling apparatus and translated through the anvil and cartridge to sever the staple tissue.
While the aforementioned reload configurations provide numerous advantages, it may be desirable to prevent inadvertent firing of the knife of the surgical stapler when a staple cartridge is not installed or is spent.